


Light in the Darkness

by TheFluffyPrince



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2019-02-01 03:33:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12696459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFluffyPrince/pseuds/TheFluffyPrince
Summary: The Ceremonial Duel is slowly approaching, but there are some last minute burdens weighing down on Atem's shoulders.





	Light in the Darkness

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KatNocta](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatNocta/gifts).



Yugi opened his eyes suddenly, sitting up suddenly in his bed. It took him a few moments to get his bearings before he looked around the room, eyebrows furrowing as he didn't immediately recognize the room that he was in. It took a few moments of looking around as the pure white room, filled the to brim with toys and games before he realized that he was in his mind room. Confusion came over him and Yugi reached out mentally to check whether Yami had taken control of his body without him knowing. However, he found that he was still sleeping in the physical world, which made him more confused. He didn't typically end up in his mind room without a reason. Even during the times where he had been plagued with nightmares, he always seemed to stay to himself. 

“Why am I in here?” Yugi asked to himself, slowly moving out of his bed. 

A sudden bout of distress came over Yugi, nearly causing him to stumble. Yugi was instantly caught off guard, because he had absolutely no reason to be distressed in the first place. He didn't remember going to sleep stressed about anything, and to his knowledge, he hadn't been having a nightmare. He wasn't even sure if his subconscious could technically _have_ a nightmare while he was in his mind room. And yet, a rush of adrenaline went through him and he could feel his hands starting to shake with the intense emotion going through him. 

Thankfully, after a few moments, the intense anxiety petered off until it was just a tiny buzz of nervousness flowing through his veins. Letting out a loud breath, Yugi racked his brain, trying to figure out what was going on. It wasn't until he glanced over towards the door separating him from his other self that Yugi stilled. He had spoken to his other self just a few hours ago, but he had seemed perfectly fine while they had been talking. Although thinking on it, Yugi supposed that wasn't the best indicator that something was wrong, since his other self had never really been the type of person to tell when he's feeling down. Even when they had gotten closer, there were still some things that his other self would keep to himself. And now, with less than half a day left before their last duel...

Yugi nearly hit himself in the head once the thought came to mind. It would make sense that his other self would be nervous about their upcoming battle. It was the last obstacle that stood between him and passing to the afterlife. Just the thought that Yugi was the one would who decide his other self's fate made him nervous, but he quickly squashed the feeling. Right now wasn't about him. Right now, he needed to check on his other self to make sure that he was fine. He was sure that Yami was feeling just as nervous, if not even more so. 

Nodding his head in determination, Yugi walked out of his room and stood outside of Yami's mind room, staring at the steel door for a moment. Gathering his resolve, he grabbed the knob of the door and turned, pushing the door open. Upon opening the door, Yugi looked around the room, expecting to see the typical labyrinth with Yami sitting in the center of the room. But instead of that, what greeted him was a giant throne room. 

Eyes widening, Yugi's mouth fell open somewhat as he took in the sight in front of him. The walls spanned up almost endlessly and the room felt much larger than the room Yami had before. It was almost intimidating being in the room now. Looking ahead in the room, Yugi could see a carpet on the floor, leading right to the center of the room, where a large throne sat. And sitting right in the throne was Yami, in all his glory. The sight took his breath away. Yami was dressed from head to toe in the clothing he had worn back in Egypt, jewelry accenting his body and glinting brightly in the light. Only this time, Yugi could actually spend the time to take in the attire and fully appreciate how good it made Yami look. 

He looked like a god. 

He didn't seem to notice Yugi had entered the room, head resting in the palm of his hand. He seemed to be thinking about something, muttering underneath his breath. Yugi was almost tempted to walk out, but he held still in his resolve. He slowly made his way towards Yami, coming to a stop in front of the other male. He reached a hand out and tapped his other self on his shoulder, causing him to flinch back in shock. 

“Aibou?!” Yami exclaimed breathlessly, immediately trying to compose himself. 

Yugi gave a tiny smile to his other self. “Hey,” he said, not quite sure what to say in response. 

The two stared at each other for a moment, a faint feeling of awkwardness settling over the two. Thankfully, it passed as Yami's expression smoothed out and he leaned forward in his throne, concern written on his face. “Was something the matter, Aibou? You don't normally come in here until something is wrong,” Yami pointed out. 

“I could be asking you that. It felt like you were stressed about something earlier, so I came to check on you,” Yugi asked softly, watching as a look of embarrassment came to Yami's face. Now that he was up close to Yami, he could definitely tell that something was wrong. There was a tenseness to Yami's face, one that only appeared when he was deep in thought about something. One of his hands was playing around with the hem of his tunic, almost mindlessly. Not to mention that his other self's eyes were flickering around too much to not be noticeable. 

Yami attempted to wave off his concern. “It was nothing. Just still coming to terms with some of the memories that I have gotten back recently. But thank you for the concern, Aibou.”

If he were any other person, Yugi might have settled for such an answer. But he knew his other self like the back of his hand. He could tell when Yami was bypassing a question because he felt as though he was burdening someone. It was one of his more exasperating traits that he seemed to have gotten from Yugi. He knew that his other self was used to diverting attention away from himself to help others, but right now he was the one that needed attending to. 

“You can't lie to me, Yami. We've been sharing the same body for how long now?” Yugi asked, giving a chuckle as he saw the sheepish look on his other self's face. "You know that you can tell me whatever it is that's bothering you. I won't judge you for it."

A sigh came from Yami's mouth. “You're right...,” Yami trailed off, leaning back in the throne and giving a loud throne. For a moment, he didn't speak, staring up at the ceiling blankly. A faint smile came to his face and he gazed over at Yugi. “You know Aibou...you've always spoken about how much I've helped you grow, how I've helped you gain confidence, made you stronger...after this duel you'll be going back to living your life how it was supposed to be.”

Not quite sure where Yami was going with his statement, Yugi just nodded his head slowly. It didn't take much prompting to get his other self to continue. “I wonder if I'll be able to fully adapt into the afterlife after spending so much time here. I've been in the Millennium Puzzle for so long...and I've become accustomed to living in this time with you and your friends. I've grown accustomed to being with you, Yugi,” Yami glanced at him, a warm smile on his face. 

“I just worry...how will I be able to go back to my past life, with people that I have not need in thousands of years...The Atem that they are hoping to see...I am not that person anymore. I'm not the hero that they imagine I am.”

Not wanting to hear more, Yugi walked up to Yami and took the other male's face in his hands. Yami's eyes flickered up to him, watching him closely. “I'm sure that they realize that, Yami. I mean, Dark Magician has been watching over you ever since you came back, hasn't he? And it's not like you are that much different, from back then. You're still the kind, serious, fair pharaoh that they remember you as. Now you're just a kind, serious, fair pharaoh who has lived in the modern era."

“But Aibou-”

“No buts. Yami, you've always been the person who has picked me up when I was feeling down. You have always been the one to support me, and you've never asked for me to do the same. I didn't know at the time, but you were one of the first few people who was there for me, even if you weren't really doing it for my benefit at the time. You are...the strongest person that I've ever had by my side. And I'm happy that I was able to take this journey with you. I don't regret a second of it,” Yugi said softly, as he let his thumbs rub Yami's cheeks in comfort. 

Yami's face twisted up with emotion and his eyes started to water, although the tears coming to his eyes refused to fall. "Am I? Yugi, I have put you and your friends in danger countless times. I have put my followers through so much pain...I've betrayed your trust countless times! And yet, you...” Bottom lip quivering, Yami struggled to get his words out. 

Yugi had no idea that Yami was still struggling with some of the things that he had done in the past. Sure, how his other self had acted in the past hadn't been great, but Yugi had forgiven him long ago. Yami had always been willing to learn from his mistakes, and he became a better person as time went on. Yugi bent down, pressing a kiss to Yami's forehead. “Oh course. You're my other self. Nothing you could do could make me hate you, because I know you. You're a good person, who wants to do better. Who _has_ done better. Yami, I'm so proud of you and what you've done.” 

A tear fell from Yami's eyes and Yugi swiped the tear away before pressing another kiss to his other self's forehead. “I love you, Atem.”

A choked sob came from his other self before he felt arms wrapping themselves around him, drawing him close. “I love you too, Yugi.”


End file.
